San Jose City Hall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The current City Hall of San José California, opened in 2005 and is located at 200 East Santa Clara Street, San José, CA 95113.
Contents |
[edit] Architecture
The architect was Richard Meier, designer of the Getty Center, Beverly Hills, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain and numerous other buildings around the world. The architectural style is most influenced by that of Le Corbusier. The $382 million dollar city hall has been somewhat controversial, with the rotunda being compared to R2-D2 from Star Wars, but the building was designed to be environmentally friendly, making use of natural light, and providing shading with a "bris soleil" on the tower.
The complex is large, with the 18 story tall tower totaling 550,000 square feet (46,000 m²). The mayor's office is located in the top floor of the tower, with the rotunda serving as an entrance and council chambers located in the third building.
The city hall tower is the home to a pair of peregrine falcons. The falcons, named Jose and Clara after the city and Santa Clara County produced three offspring, named Spirit, Hiko, and Esperanza.
[edit] History
The present City Hall complex replaces the earlier City Hall and Civic Center located on North First Street, which was used from 1958 until 2005. From 1889 to 1958 the City Hall was located in what is now Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San José.
